SPECTACULAR was our weekend at Nike Indoor Nationals!
At the start of pre-season, we hoped to qualify 20 athletes for Nike Indoor Nationals. Eighteen athletes were accepted and sixteen attended, 5 in Championship, 11 in Emerging Elite.
Ben Altenburg and James Witt earned All American status. Three Pole Vault Carolina athletes jumped new personal records: Junior Ben Altenburg 4.88m; Sophomore Gwyneth Overton 11’2; and Sophomore Elise Davis 11’2” and 11’8”. Elise finished 3rd overall in Emerging Elite.
Height jumped does not tell the whole story. Much is happening within the athlete that only parents, coaches, and maybe teammates are aware of. Successful is the athlete who fights through injury for the chance to compete. Victorious is the athlete who has been mentally blocked and still cleared multiple bars on a national stage. Triumphant is the athlete who after months of struggle, jumped the opening bar on the first attempt, a season’s best. Jubilant is the athlete who found the confidence to have the best meet of their career, one we have been waiting for!
Much gratitude to our parents, siblings, and grandparents who formed a cheering section and supported every Pole Vault Carolina athlete as if they were their own.
To the club athletes not with us in New York, we missed you!
The athletes made the most of their time in New York City. They gathered together away from The Armory to see Radio City Music Hall, Times Square, Grand Central Station, Chinatown, and took freezing rides to the Statue of Liberty. They are teammates, they are friends, and it is our sincere hope that they support one another long after they graduate from the club.
Thank you, @Nike for a wonderful event! @armorynyc it is always an adventure to figure out if we are carrying the poles up the winding stairs or through the narrow passageway behind the throws cage in the back. Until next year, we will keep reaching higher.
Ender Buchanan, Thomas Hungarland, Zach Hinson, Justin Lawrence, James Witt, Ryan Yoder, Ben Altenburg, Lizzie Surface, Isabella Palmquist, Gwyneth Overton, Elise Davis, Sage Weiss, Anna Savage, Hannah Wilcox, Lucie Haws, Laney Babo, Tessa Kranick, Danica McCarron
#polevaultcarolina #polevaultclub #durhamnc #nikeindoornationals2026
